Alliant Gets Favorable California Rulings in Aon Litigation

Newport Beach, Calif.-based Alliant Insurance Services got favorable rulings from a U.S. District Court in California in its litigation against Aon Corp. and its subsidiaries.

In June 2011, Alliant joined with former Aon employees Peter Arkley, Ken Caldwell and Michael Parizino in a lawsuit challenging the enforceability of restrictive covenants, which Aon included in its employment agreements with these California residents, who are now members of Alliant’s Construction Services Group.

The following year in a June 13 order U.S. District Court Judge Dale Fischer struck down the non-compete provisions in Aon’s employment agreements and in various equity plans between the company and each of these former employees. The court found these covenants not to compete void and unenforceable under California law. The Court further found that Aon’s use of these restrictive covenants constituted an unfair business practice under California’s unfair competition law.

“These important rulings reject Aon’s attempt to use illegal employee covenants to restrict Alliant’s brokers from working with their clients,” Jeffrey S. Klein, chair of the employment litigation practice at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and lead counsel for Alliant in the multi-jurisdictional disputes between the parties, said in a statement.

Alliant provides property and casualty, workers’ compensation, employee benefits, surety, and financial products.

Topics Lawsuits California Alliant Aon